Musings at Altitude

I’m fairly introspective.  I constantly assess what I’m doing.  I also frequently ask others for their feedback on what I’m doing and how I’m supporting them.  My goal is to match my self assessment with that external assessment to see if what I sense and see matches what others are telling me.  In a way, since perceptions can often times be reality, I’m seeking “the true me”…that caricature that effectively conveys who I am in those various roles that I play.

There have been times where the feedback I received took me totally by surprise.  I viewed me very, very differently than those that worked with and for me.  When I thought I was “cranking on all cylinders” and doing great things for the organization, others saw me as failing to honor the commitments I was making and letting them down in the process. 

And there have been other times where the external reports matched perfectly with my own self assessment, in both the positive and negative comments.  At those times, the affirmation brings smiles even if the comments provide confirmation of things I need to be doing differently.

So who is “the true me”?  This picture above was given to me when I left my last duty assignment in the active Air Force.  My team wanted to capture their version of “the true me”!  It’s pretty close to who I thought I was then, and to who I think I still am today.  I’m still a cheerleader.  I’m still an eternal optimist.  I still live every day wanting tomorrow to be today.  I still desperately desire nirvana at work and at home.  I still want every single interaction to be meaningful.  And I still want everyone I work with to feel blessed, to be blessed, and to feel loved.

So that’s the true me – a work in progress that really does believe that “it doesn’t need to be this hard.”